Inceptua, Onconova Therapeutics in pre-approval access collaboration

Inceptua Medicines Access, a business unit of the Inceptua Group, has announced the collaboration with Onconova Therapeutics to make available intravenous rigosertib via a Pre-approval Access Program in selected countries around the world.

Onconova Therapeutics, a Phase 3-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel products to treat cancer, with an initial focus on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and Inceptua Medicines Access (a business unit of the Inceptua Group), a global pharmaceutical company and service partner, today announced that they have entered into a collaboration to make available intravenous rigosertib via a Pre-approval Access Program in selected countries around the world.

Pre-approval Access Programs (also known as expanded access, early access, compassionate use, named patient supply) are regulatory-compliant processes permitting experimental agents in development to be made available upon the request of a physician or a patient for appropriate patients for whom no alternative treatment option exists in their country. Rigosertib is a small molecule that inhibits cellular signaling in cancer cells by acting as a RAS mimetic. Current clinical development of rigosertib is centered upon the therapeutic management of MDS, a heterogeneous group of bone marrow disorders characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis that often develop into acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Rigosertib, in its intravenous formulation, is currently in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of higher-risk MDS.

The rigosertib Pre-approval Access Program is expected to launch in first half of 2020 and will allow Inceptua to supply intravenous rigosertib within designated countries, primarily and initially concentrated in selected countries in Europe, in response to physician requests for patients with higher-risk MDS who have exhausted all available treatment options, and are not eligible for or have no access to the INSPIRE study. Under the terms of this agreement, Inceptua will support Onconova through the pre-approval provision of intravenous rigosertib initially into a number of countries including: Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the UK.

“Inceptua Medicines Access is delighted to be selected as Onconova’s partner for the Pre-approval Access Program for rigosertib. Higher-risk MDS is a disease with significant unmet need, and we are pleased to be able to support healthcare professionals seeking access to rigosertib, ahead of its commercial launch,” said Mark Corbett, EVP, Inceptua Medicines Access.

Steven M. Fruchtman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Onconova, said, “The rigosertib Pre-approval Access Program is a key strategic initiative for Onconova. We are pleased that intravenous rigosertib will be made compliantly available to suitable patients with higher-risk MDS through their physicians in designated countries. The program will run alongside our ongoing Phase 3 INSPIRE Trial, and is expected to continue until commercial launch in such countries. We are pleased to work with Inceptua, given their strong record of administering such programs successfully.”